Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'

"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" is a song by American songwriter and recording artist Michael Jackson. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" was released on May 8, 1983, by Epic Records as the fourth single from Jackson's sixth studio album Thriller in 1982. It is the first song on Thriller. The song was written, composed and co-produced by Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones.
The song's lyrics pertain to strangers spreading rumors to start an argument for no good reason. Musically, "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" has a cross-cultural disco theme, similar to Jackson's material from his previous album Off the Wall in 1979. The song's rhythm arrangement consists of interweaving drum-machine patterns, while the horn arrangement is brassy and precise. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" has been covered and sampled by multiple recording artists since its release. Aside from Thriller, "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" appears on multiple compilation and greatest hits albums by Jackson.
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" was generally well received by contemporary music critics. The song was also commercially successful, charting within the top 20 and top 30 in multiple countries. The song became Jackson's fifth consecutive top ten single in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking within the top ten at number five. The song re-entered charts in 2008 after the release of Thriller 25. Following Jackson's death in June 2009, the song re-entered music charts worldwide, mainly due to digital download sales. Unlike previous singles from Thriller, "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" did not have a music video to accompany it, but was performed by Jackson on world concert tours, as both a member of The Jacksons and as a solo artist.
As part of the release of Thriller 25, a remix of "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", entitled "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008 with Akon", was recorded with Akon, and released as the second single from the album. The song was commercially successful, mainly charting within the top ten in six countries, as well as the top 20 in several territories worldwide and top 40 in Canada. The song was more successful internationally than in the United States, having peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 81, which was the song's lowest charting position.

Background


"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" was written, composed, and co-produced by Michael Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones. It was originally written for his sister La Toya Jackson about her troubled relationship with her sisters-in-law,[citation needed] but Michael ended up recording the song and La Toya sometimes performs the song at her concerts. The song was originally recorded in 1978 for the inclusion on the Off the Wall album, but was later re-recorded in fall 1982, in Los Angeles, California.[2] "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" was one of the four songs that Jackson received writing credits on for his sixth studio album Thriller in 1982.[2] The song was released by Epic Records as the fourth single from the album. Unlike Thriller's previous singles, "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" did not have a film or a music video released to promote it.
Aside from Thriller, "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" has been featured on multiple compilation and greatest hits albums by Jackson since the song's release.[3] "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" appeared on the first disc of Jackson's two-disc compilation album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I in 1995 as well as the 25th anniversary edition of Thriller, entitled Thriller 25, and the greatest hits album King of Pop; both albums were released in 2008.[3] The song is also featured on the box set collection released in 2004, The Ultimate Collection, the greatest hits album The Essential Michael Jackson, the compilation album This Is It and the special box set The Collection released days after Jackson's death.[3] The song was also remixed to the Immortal album in 2011.

Composition


"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" was viewed as being a freewheeling, cross-cultural disco song, that shows similarities to Jackson's material on his previous studio album, Off the Wall in 1979.[3] The song's rhythm arrangement (which was arranged by Jackson himself) is a complex interweaving of drum-machine patterns and work by percussionist Paulinho da Costa, while the horn arrangement, by Jerry Hey, is brassy and precise.[3] Slant Magazine commented that the song was a "complicated tapestry of colliding hooks and pop references."[4] The song's lyrics, "Too high to get over, too low to get under", has strong similarities to Funkadelic's opening salvo for "One Nation Under a Groove".[4]
The song's lyrics pertain to the media and press, as well as gossip and people trying to start arguments or problems for no reason, which he states in the lyrics, "Someone's always tryin' to start my baby crying," and then goes to a more "quasi paranoia" yield in the "near-bitterness" chorus, 'You're a vegetable, you're a vegetable/They'll eat off you, you're a vegetable.'"[5] In "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", Jackson's vocal range spans from G#3 to E5.[6] The song is played in the key of E Major.[6] The song is moderately bright and its metronome is 122 beats per minute.[6] The song has a basic sequence of D/E–E–D/E–E as its chord progression.[6] The coda at the end of the song comes directly from Cameroonian saxophonist Manu Dibango's 1972 disco song "Soul Makossa". The coda is "Mama-say mama-sah ma-ma-coo-sah".[4] Makossa is a Cameroonian music genre and dance. Dibango sued Jackson and settled out of court for one million French francs, agreeing thereby to waive future rights to this recording but not future use of the material.[7][8][9]

Critical Reception


"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" has received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics. Christopher Connelly, a writer for Rolling Stone, described "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" as being Thriller's "most combative track".[5] Connelly noted that in the "hyperactive" song Jackson's "emotions are so raw that the song nearly goes out of control".[5] He further commented that the song has a "tune that's almost as exciting as seeing Jackson motivate himself across a concert stage – and a lot more unpredictable".[5] Remarking that while the song's lyrics "won't keep Elvis Costello awake nights" they "do show that Jackson has progressed past the hey-let's-hustle sentiments that dominated Off the Wall".[5] He added that Jackson's "raw ability and conviction make material like", citing "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", as well as other of Thriller's songs, "into first-class cuts".[5]
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, a writer for Allmusic, listed "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", along with "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and "Human Nature", as being the best songs from Thriller.[10] Eric Herderson, a writer for Slant Magazine, commented that with "three quick rimshots", he felt that "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" was like a "court fanfare".[4] Robert Christgau, a music critic, commented that he'd "expect to bear more" of Thriller's "Wanna Be Startin' Something" and "Thriller" on the "dancefloor" rather than in his "living room".[11] "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" received one Grammy Award nomination.[12] The song was nominated for "Best R&B Song" at the 1984 Grammy Awards, but lost to "Billie Jean," another of Jackson's singles from Thriller.[12]

Chart Performance


In 1983, "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" had a good chart performance worldwide. The song entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart top ten positions on July 2, 1983 at number nine, having moved up six places from the song's previous week.[13] On July 16, "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" charted at number five, which was the song's peak position on the chart.[13] The song's peak position made "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" Thriller's fourth consecutive single to peak within the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100.[14] "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" was more commercially successful than Thriller's follow-up single "Human Nature" on the Billboard Hot 100, with the song peaking on the chart at number seven.[14] The song also peaked within the top ten, at number five, on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart.[14] Internationally, the song was commercially successful, mainly charting within the top 20 and top 30 on music charts. In the United Kingdom, on June 11, 1983, the song entered the chart's top 40 positions at number 38.[15] The following week the song moved up 24 positions to number 14, and on June 25, the song peaked within the top ten at number eight.[15] The song remained on the charts for a total of nine weeks in 1983.[15] In New Zealand, on July 24, 1983, "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" entered the charts at number 47.[16] The following week, the song peaked at number 35, which was its peak position.[16] The song remained in the top 50 of the chart for three weeks.[16] "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" entered Dutch charts on July 9, 1983, charting within the top five at number four.[17] The following week the song charted at number three, which was its peak position, for three consecutive weeks.[17] The song charted within the top ten for several weeks, and remained in the top 20 for ten weeks in 1983.[17]
In 2008, after the release of Thriller 25 the song re-entered music charts worldwide. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" entered Italian music charts on February 21, 2008, charting at number 14; the song remained on the chart for only one week.[18] The song entered Danish music charts on February 28, charting within the top 30 at number 29.[19] The following week the song charted at number 22, where it peaked.[19] In Switzerland, the song entered the top 50 at number 47 on February 24, 2008.[20] The following week the song peaked at number 30.[20] After a total of six weeks on the chart the song, fell out of the top 100, and after four weeks reentered the chart at number 83, before falling off the chart again.[20] Following Jackson's death in June 2009, his music experienced a surge in popularity.[21] "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" re-entered the United Kingdom charts on July 4, 2009, at number 72.[15] The following week the song charted at 51 and the next week it charted outside the top 100 positions.[15] On July 12, "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" re-entered Switzerland music charts for the second time.[20] The song charted at number 37, which was its peak position.[20] The song remained on the charts for three weeks, before charting out of the top 100 positions.[20]

Live Performances


"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" was performed by Jackson as both a member of The Jacksons as well as a solo artist during world concert tours. The song, as well as other songs from Thriller, were performed by Jackson during The Jacksons final world concert series, Victory Tour in 1984, the song was the tours opening song. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" was performed during all of Jackson's concert tours as a solo artist. Similar to the Victory Tour, "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" was the Bad World Tour opening song on both tour legs. The concert series lasted from 1987 to 1989.
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" was also performed during Jackson's Dangerous World Tour from June 1992 to November 1993. The Dangerous World Tour was supposed to last longer, but was cancelled due to Jackson's health concerns, as well as the stress from the child sexual abuse accusations made against him. The next, and what would be the last performance of the song, was during Jackson's world concert tour, HIStory World Tour, from 1996 to 1997.
Since March 2009, Jackson was preparing to perform "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" during his This Is It concert series from 2009 to 2010.[22] During rehearsals for the This Is It concerts, Jackson's performance of "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" contained a capella snippet of "Speechless", from Jackson's studio album Invincible (2001). Following Jackson's death in June of the same year, video footage of Jackson rehearsing the song was featured in the 2009 concert documentary, Michael Jackson's This Is It.[23] The video footage was also featured on the film's DVD.[24]

Personnel


Written and composed, lead vocals by Michael Jackson
Produced by Quincy Jones
Co-Produced by Michael Jackson
Greg Phillinganes: Rhodes, synthesizer
Michael Boddicker and Bill Wolfer: Synthesizer
David Williams: Guitar
Louis Johnson: Bass
Paulinho Da Costa: Percussion
Jerry Hey, Gary Grant: Trumpets, flugelhorns
Larry Williams: Saxophone, flute
Bill Reichenbach: Trombone
Michael Jackson, Nelson Hayes & Steven Ray: Bathroom stomp board
Vocal arrangement by Michael Jackson
Rhythm arrangement by Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones
Horn arrangement by Jerry Hey and Michael Jackson
Background Vocals: Julia Waters, Maxine Waters, Oren Waters, James Ingram, Michael Jackson, Bunny Hull, Becky Lopez
Samples Manu Dibango's 1972 Soul Makossa

Track Listing


United States 7" version
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (Single Version) – 4:19
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (Instrumental) – 4:19
United States 12" version
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (12" Version) – 6:31
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (Instrumental) – 6:31
United Kingdom 7" version
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (Single Version) – 4:19
"Rock with You" (live with The Jacksons) – 3:58
Europe 12" version
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (12" Version) – 6:31
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (Instrumental) – 6:31
"Rock with You" (live with The Jacksons) – 3:58

Cover Versions and Uses in Pop Culture


"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" has been covered and sampled by multiple recording artists since its release.
Jackson's elder sister, La Toya, has frequently covered the song. She used it to open her set at 1993's Sopot Song Festival, on MDR in the 1990s, and on the sixth season of the United Kingdom television show Celebrity Big Brother in 2009.[30]
The song appeared in the 2002 video game "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City", where it appeared on the playlist for the fictional radio station, Fever 105.
Rihanna sampled the songs ending chant (which is the Manu Dibango coda "mama-se, mama-sa, mama-ku-sa") in her single "Don't Stop the Music" from her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad (2007).[31][32]
One week after Jackson's death, musician Madonna used that song as part a medley of Jackson's songs as a tribute, during her second leg of her Sticky & Sweet Tour in July 2009.[33] Also a dancer impersonating Jackson, performing his signature moves, like spinning, moonwalking and gyrating.[33]
In February 2010, Whitney Houston performed "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", along with Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel", during her I Look to You Tour.[34][35]
Björk has been known to use an interpolation of the song while performing her own song "I Go Humble" on stage.
The "mama-se mama-sa mama-ku-sa" line is used in the first verse of "You See Me" by Childish Gambino
Glee used it as one of the songs in its "Michael" episode (2012). This cover debuted and peaked at Number 78 at Billboard Hot 100, Number 46 at Billboard Digital Songs, and Number 88 at Billboard Canadian Hot 100 chart at the week of February 18, 2012. [36]

Charts


Chart (1983/2008/2009) Peak
position
Danish Singles Chart 25[19]
Dutch Top 40 1[17]
Italian Singles Chart 14[18]
New Zealand Singles Chart 35[16]
Swiss Singles Chart 30[20]
UK Singles Chart 8[15]
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 5[14]
U.S. Billboard R&B/Hip Hop Songs 5[14]
U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Songs[37] 20